Top 10 List of Types of Alcohol in the US

Alcohol is common in American society. Drinking daily is also common here and different high end alcohol brands in social and family parties is a must. Alcoholism is also a common problem in American society and many prevention measures are taken to stop the growing number of alcoholism. Drinking within limit is good for occasions but excessive drinking or becoming addicted is strictly prohibited and harmful to physical and mental health.

Best List of Types of Alcohol in the US

Though there are many types and brands available in the market, finding the best types of alcohol from reputable sources always tricky. You have to check most of them first hand basis then you should collect reviews from regular drinkers who have absolute knowledge of different types of alcohol and only after that we can create a basic type of list for different types of alcohol.

Best List of Types of Alcohol in the US Comparison Chart

Alcohol Name

Raw Material

Origin

Process

ABV

Whiskey

Grain, Malt

UK

Distilled Beverage

40% to 68%

Beer

Cereal Grain Starches

Iraq

Fermented Beverage

4% to 6%

Vodka

Fermented Potatoes or Cereal Grains

Poland

Distilled Beverage

40% to 60%

Wine

Fermented Grapes

Middle East

Fermented Beverage

9% to 16%

Tequila

Blue Agave Plant

Tequila, Mexico

Distilled Beverage

40% to 60%

Champagne

Fermented Grapes

Champagne, France

Fermented Beverage

11% to 13%

Brandy

Pomace or Mash or Wine

Dutch

Distilled Beverage

35% to 60%

Gin

Juniper Berries

UK

Distilled Beverage

40% to 50%

Rum

Sugarcane Byproducts

Ancient India

Distilled Beverage

37% to 80%

Absinthe

Artemisia Absinthium and Other Herbs

Egypt

Distilled Beverage

45% to 90%

There are many types of alcohol are available on the market. Alcohol types are differentiated by the percentage of alcohol in the type and flavor and raw materials to create the drink. If you try to find the list of types of alcohol you will get over a thousand varieties. So, we tried to differentiate by the common names and brands and our top 10 list of types of alcohol in the US is given below:

1. Whiskey

Whiskey is the most popular alcohol type in the US and it is our top pick too. Fermented grain mash like wheat, rye, barley and corn are the raw material to make the drink. White oak wooden casks are the medium to age the whiskey.

The volume of alcohol in whiskey can vary from 40% to 68% but mainly contain 40% of alcohol. There are many types of whiskey and most of the countries have their own variety of whisky. We have listed them by raw material and country wise.

Types by Raw Material:

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Malt Whiskey: Made of malted Barley

Grain Whiskey: Made of different types of malted Grains

Grain and malt combination can be used to produce different types of Whiskey:

Blended Whiskey

Single Malt Whiskey

Blended Malt Whiskey

Single Cask

Cask Strength

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Country Based Whiskey Types:

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American Whiskey: There are different types of American Whiskey and most popular of them are listed below:

2. Beer

Beer is a common beverage in American society. Beer is a universal light weight alcohol all over the world except the Muslim countries. Over 80% of American people drink beer regularly.

As the oldest alcoholic drink, beer is labeled as third popular drink of the world after the water and tea. You can find both beer cans and bottles in all the departmental stores in US. Only 4% to 6% alcohol concentration are in beer so you can drink it all day long without being drunk.

Cereal grain starches is the raw material to produce beer. There are other ingredients, those are necessary to brew and produce the beer. There are many beer festivals arranged in the whole country all year long.

Beer Ingredient:

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Water

Starch Sources

Hops

Yeast

Clarifying Agent

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Types of Beer:

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Real Ale

Pale Ale

Stout

Wheat Ale

Mild Ale

Lager

Lambic

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3. Vodka

Our third of list of types of alcohol in US is the vodka. It is a combination of ethanol and water and mainly created by fermented potatoes or cereal grains but other raw materials like sugar or fruits are also used by many brands.

Vodka has usually 40% concentration alcohol described by the famous chemist Dmitri Mendeleel and tradially served as raw without mixing with water or other substances. It is the main alcoholic beverages in the Baltic, and Russian based countries.

In modern era, vodka is served as cocktail with mixing many other drinks together though regular drinker want to have it raw. Most popular cocktails using vodka are vodka tonic, Greyhound, vodka martini, Screwdriver, Cosmopolitan, Moscow Mule, Bloody Mary and Black or White Russian.

Vodka Flavors:

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lemon

lemon-lime

lime

orange

grapefruit

strawberry

raspberry

blueberry

vanilla

chili pepper

apple

cherry

cinnamon

cranberry

chocolate

coffee, etc.

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Vodka Types:

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Absolut

ZUBROWKA

SKYY VODKA

SMIRNOFF

KHLIBNYI DAR

SVEDKA

BURNETT’S

CIROC

VODKA MOROSHA

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4. Wine

Wine is a common alcoholic beverage in the world and in United States, it is similarly popular. This ia common drink on all the occasion in the US. Fermented grapes are the raw material to produce wine. Vitis vinifera, Vitis labrusca or Vitis rupestris are the single type of wine raw material or their combinations.

As one of the oldest drink of the world wine has its purpose. It has over 8000 years of proven history but it is speculated that it is as oldest as the beer. Consuming wine is the easy way to get drunk and for this reason it was popular on the historical party events as well as modern parties too.

Types of Wine:

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Red Wine: Most popular and legendary brand of wine. The color can vary from violet, red or brown depending on the age and raw material of the wine.

White Wine: Second best type of wine. As the name suggest, it is usually colorless but it can have yellow-gold, yellow-green or straw-yellow color.

Rose Wine: Some can say rose wine is also a red wine but it doesn’t fulfill the color criteria of red wine. The flavor and quality is also different.

Fruit Wine

Mead Wine

Starch Based Wine

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Wine Producing Countries:

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Italy

Spain

France

United States

Argentina

Russia

Romania

Chile

Germany

China

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Wine Exporting Countries:

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France

Italy

Australia

Spain

United States

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Wine Consuming Countries:

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France

Italy

Portugal

Argentina

Croatia

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5. Tequila

Tequila is one of the strongest alcoholic beverage. It has one of the highest concentration of alcohol of over 60% but most popular types of Tequila contain 40% to 60% alcohol. Blue agave plant is the raw material to produce Tequila and it is a primary resident of Tequila town on Mexico from where the name of the beverage came.

Tequila is a strong drink, though it has same concentration of alcohol like the whiskey but consuming a large amount of Tequila is tough job and it will have a greater toll on your body. There are many different colors of Tequila available depending of product process and raw material quality. You can find over 300 different variations of Tequila with different flavors and aroma.

Usually Tequila can be consumed raw using Tequila shot glasses and you can buy many different types of Tequila shot glasses on the market. You can also find a lot of Tequila mixed cocktails on famous liquor shops and bars.

Types of Tequila:

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Blanco or plata

Joven or oro

Reposado

Añejo

Extra Añejo

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Tequila Brands:

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Arette

Casa Noble

Don Julio

Hacienda San José de Miravalle

Herradura

Kirkland Signature

Olmeca Tequila

Sauza Tequila

Sol de Mexico Tequila

Tres Generaciones

1800 Tequila

1519 Tequila

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Cocktails with Tequila

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Bananarita

Margarita

Bloody Aztec

Matador

Chimayó Cocktail

Juan Collins

Paloma

Slammer Royale

Tequila Sour

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6. Champagne

Champagne is a variation of wine that is hugely popular all over the world for its prestigious nature. All parties involving with Champagne are novelty and royalty. The Romans were the first to introduce Champagne and producing it. The French region name Champagne is the birth place of this wine type and all the world demand for this alcoholic beverage are satisfied from that tiny area’s production.

Though, the Romans introduced this, but it wasn’t hugely popular before the 14th century. On 15th century, royal families all over the European countries came to knowledge of this prestigious alcohol brand and since then its extremely popular among them.

Other types of sparkling wines except Champagne used the name but many countries are banning the name for products those aren’t produced in the Champagne region. So, Champagne name is now exclusively for Champagne region sparkling wine only.

Types of Champagne Producer:

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Négociant Manipulant or NM doesn’t grow grapes but buy and make wine

Coopérative de Manipulation or CM collect grapes with growers and make wine together

Récoltant Manipulant or RM grows grapes and makes wine

Société de Récoltants or SR is an association of growers who shares champagne but not cooperative

Récoltant Coopérateur or RC who sell shampagne produced under its name and level

Marque Auxiliaire or MA only a brand name but not a grower or maker

Négociant Distributeur or ND Merchant selling using own name

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Types of Champagne

There are many variations or types of Champagne based on flavor, aroma, quality, sweetness and alcohol concentration. We have listed the most popular types of the beverage:
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Prestige cuvee

Blanc de noirs

Blanc de blancs

Rosé Champagne

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Champagne Bottle and Cork

Like the sparkling wine, Champagne bottle and cork both have prestigious and elegant design and styles. Usually there are two different sizes for bottles in the modern era but before the 20th century there were a lot of Champagne bottle sizes and styles. Standard bottle of 750ml and magnums of 1500ml.

Champagne corks have unique designs too and the cork shape changes as the age of the wine changes so you can tell the age of the Champagne by the looks of the cork. Spraying Champagne is a common event after most sport finale in the European countries and it is widely followed in many other countries as a prestigious event.

7. Brandy

Brandy is a variation of wine that is produced by distilling the wine. The alcohol concentration can vary in different Brandy brands but it usually contains 35% to 60% of alcohol. This is popular being after diner drinks. You can drink it raw or mixing with cold drinks after completing the dinner as you see fit.

To imitate the aging the brandy colored by caramel coloring and some other types of brandy use wooden casks for aging. But there are some types of brandy that use both the processes. The history of brandy isn’t old as other most popular alcohol brands but you can say it has over five centuries of age.

Brandy Brands and Types:

There are many types and brands of brandy based on origin, aging, flavor and other factors. The most popular American brandy brands are:
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Christian Brothers

Korbel

E&J Gallo

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Most popular and prestigious brandy brands of the world:
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Cognac from France

Armagnac from France

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Other popular types and brands of brandy are listed below:
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Armenian Brandy

Cyprus Brandy

Greek Brandy

Brandy de Jerez

Kanyak

Pisco

Italian Stravecchio

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8. Gin

Gin is one of the most popular alcohol or spirit types. From the beginning gin was used as herbal medicine but through ages it became one of the best alcohol type of the world. There are many accusation about its origin and inventor but it is believed it was widely used in the 16th century.

Gin became a popular drink of Great Britain when Dutch republic leader William of Orange occupied the country with Mary his wife. Throughout ages, Gin became hugely popular not only in England but all over the world and most people of United States came from England so Gin is always a favorite alcoholic drink in United States.

Categories of Gin

There are mainly four mother categories of gin, all other variants came from these four mother gin categories and they are listed below:
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Juniper-flavoured spirit drinks

Gin

Distilled gin

London gin

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Production Methods of Gin

There are various ways to produce this unique spirit drink and we have listed the most popular three production method of Gin:
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Pot distilled gin

Column distilled gin

Compound gin

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Popular Gin Brands

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Ableforth’s Bathtub Gin

Greenall’s – England

Aviation American Gin

Gilbey’s – England

Leopolds Gin – Colorado

Seagram’s – Quebec

Beefeater – England

South Gin – New Zealand

BOLS Damrak Netherlands

The Botanist

Blackwood’s – Scotland

Taaka – Louisiana

Bombay Sapphire – England

Steinhäger – Germany

Boodles British Gin – England

Booth’s Gin – England

George – California

Broker’s Gin – England

Catoctin Creek – Virginia

Citadelle – France

Cork Dry Gin – Ireland

Damrak – Netherlands

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Popular Gin Cocktails

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20th Century

White Lady

French 75

Gimlet

Gin Fizz

Martini

Moon River

Old Etonian

Pink Gin

Satan’s Whiskers

The Last Word

Vesper

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9. Rum

As a distilled alcoholic drink, Rum is very popular among the people and widely used all over the world. It is one of the most consumed alcohol types in the US. Byproduct from sugarcane used to produce rum. Through distillation and fermentation, the pure rum is produced then aged through oak barrels.

The Caribbean and Latin American countries are the major producer of this drink but many other countries also produce this alcoholic drink with huge quantities. Light rum are mainly used in cocktails where strong used for drunken drinks. It first introduced in the 18th century but widely used in the 19th century in the colonial America and royal navy and other naval sectors as naval rum. Australia has a history with this drink because the Australian Rum Rebellion is a huge event of the country’s history.

Rum Grades

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Dark rums

Flavored rums

Gold rums

Light rums

Overproof rums

Premium rums

Spiced rums

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Production Processes

There are four stages of the rum production and they are listed below:
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Fermentation

Distillation

Aging

Blending

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Rum Cocktails

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Bacardi IBA

Fluffy Critter

Between the Sheets IBA

Flaming Dr Pepper

El Presidente

Blue Hawaii

Brass Monkey

Fish House Punch

Bumbo

Bushwacker

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Popular Rum Brands

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Artisan Grain Rum

Maui Dark Rum

Railean Rum

Beenleigh

Bundaberg

McDowell’s No.1 Celebration

Suntory

Cavalier

Havana Club

Siboney

Bacardi

Fernandes Rums

Isla Ñ Rum

Carúpano

Stroh (flavored rum)

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits

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10. Absinthe

Absinthe is the last one of our best alcohol drink types in US list but that doesn’t mean it is less than any of the other listed alcohol types. It has high concentration of alcohol around 50% to 80% and it is a distilled alcoholic drink.

For its green color, it is known as green fairy to many people. Some may think it as a cocktail but it isn’t, it is a full proof, full flavored and deeply oriented unique alcohol type. Though, the origin of the drink is Switzerland but it became popular in France through the 19th century and it has become one of the most popular alcohol in the world.

Drinking Absinthe can be harmful and you can easily become drunk or sick while drinking this. Many famous and popular figures of the world died by becoming addicted of this drink. So, drinking occasionally is OK with this drink but don’t become a regular drinker. It is one of the lethal and seductive and addictive alcoholic drinks of the world.

There are mainly two different production process of Absinthe and they are:
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Distilled Absinthe

Cold Mixed Absinthe

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Styles of Absinthe

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Blanche, or la Bleue

Verte

Absenta

Hausgemacht

Bohemian-style absinth

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Popular Absinthe Brands

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PACIFIQUE ABSINTHE VERTE SUPÉRIEURE

LA CLANDESTINE

TENNEYSON ABSINTHE ROYALE

LEOPOLD BROTHERS ABSINTHE VERTE

GEORGE ABSINTHE VERTE

DUPLAIS SWISS ABSINTHE VERTE

NOUVELLE-ORLEANS ABSINTHE SUPERIEURE

PERNOD

REDUX ABSINTHE

VIEUX PONTARLIER

VILYA SPIRITS EXTRAIT D’ABSINTHE VERTE

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This post is only information basis. It isn’t for encouraging people to get or become alcoholic. We all know that drinking alcohol is injurious to health.